Where is Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel woman headed this season? An unmistakable sense of optimism and discovery has defined his tenure at the maison, from his cosmic, otherworldly debut show to a delightfully down-to-earth Métiers d’Arts presentation in a New York subway station. When Blazy’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection arrived in stores earlier this year, the fashion world was in nothing short of a frenzy to get their hands on it (many dubbed it Chanelmania).  

As his Fall/Winter 2026 collection for the maison awaits a similar fate, we’re diving into the rich details and quirks that make the collection one worth waiting for. Presented during Paris Fashion Week in March, it was a shimmering, colourful celebration of lightness and glamour, full of iridescent fabrics and fluid shapes. Blazy described it as a tribute to every facet of the Chanel woman—from night to day, business to pleasure. “Chanel represents the freedom to choose between the caterpillar and the butterfly whenever you want,” he wrote. “I wish to create a canvas for women to be unapologetically who they are and who they want to be.” As we draw closer to autumn, we suspect that where the Chanel woman really wants to be is in stores, shopping the maison’s buzzy new collection—read on for the details and themes to keep an eye out for.

Drop It Down Low

The show’s dancey soundtrack was full of 2000s pop hits, but that wasn’t the only thing telling us to drop it down low this season. Blazy showed several fluid, dropped-waist dresses in distinctly 1920s silhouettes, many of them rendered in a rippling silk jersey fabric that is a hallmark of Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel is credited with elevating jersey to high fashion, being amongst the first to use the fabric for anything other than men’s underwear). One of the collection’s more clever tricks of styling came in the form of ultra-low-waisted belts that created the illusion of miniskirts. Paired with oversized, 1980s-inspired blazers, the faux miniskirts created an intriguing interplay of masculine and feminine proportions. 

This exploration of the 1920s is more than just a tailoring choice—it taps into a philosophy of freedom and fluidity in womenswear that has long defined Chanel. Where Gabrielle Chanel famously eschewed cinched waists and restrictive tailoring, Blazy’s take on freedom is altogether more modern—The New York Times’ Vanessa Friedman dubs it “anti-Ozempic dressing”. As women are yet again being pushed towards skintight silhouettes and absurd beauty standards, Chanel, as always, offers an alternative: keep it easy, breezy, and low.

Arm Candy

It wouldn’t be a Chanel collection if it didn’t give us a whole host of new it-girl bags to covet. Among the most low-key offerings were a series of ultra-slim hobo bags in lambskin and embossed crocodile leather, with the golden CC logo winking at you from each side rather than the usual centre turnlock. 

The iconic Chanel flap bag also proved a willing canvas for reinvention, and this season’s iterations played with material, structure, and embellishment. A layered version of the classic silhouette featured two quilted flaps stacked atop one another, paired with a dual version of the iconic Chanel chain strap. The Maxi Flap—which has already achieved it-girl status off the runway—was given a trapezoidal makeover and a new version of the classic CC turnlock closure. But the most intriguing version of the quilted silhouette was also the most experimental: a red and white flap bag which featured lines of crisscrossing silicone mimicking Chanel tweed, bordered with vibrant, undone braided detailing.

The New Uniform

You can’t go wrong with the basics. The season featured plenty of experimentation, but some of Chanel’s enduring codes made up the bulk of the collection’s offerings. The iconic skirt suit was shown in a lighter ribbed knit fabric to give it an everyday ease, while trousers were paired with boyish, nonchalant bomber jackets. The cropped blazers from Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection also made a comeback—this time, re-proportioned to boxy, 1980s-style dimensions.

Material Pleasures

Blazy’s caterpillar and butterfly metaphor was much more than just an aside in the collection notes. As the show unfolded, the clothes themselves mimicked a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis: boxy blazers gave way to sheer minidresses, sensible tweed was rendered in increasingly iridescent colours. Here, another quirk of the collection revealed itself in the use of unusual, experimental fabrics that added a glint of artificiality to familiar Chanel codes.

Classic tweed was woven with lurex—which gets its iridescence from metal threads wrapped in polyester—and painted onto gauze with silicone to mimic an “action painting.” Even the natural fabrics came with an otherworldly shimmer, and were adorned with intricate beading and resinwork. The pièce de resistance was undoubtedly the butterfly dress in red lace and pink silk—with its iridescent glow and miniature resin flowers, it felt lifted from a rainbow-tinted fairytale. 

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